Радиоинженерлік және телекоммуникациядағы тұрған толқын коэффициенті

Measure used in radio engineering and telecommunications

In radio engineering and telecommunications, standing wave ratio (SWR) is a measure of impedance matching of loads to the characteristic impedance of a transmission line or waveguide. Impedance mismatches result in standing waves along the transmission line, and SWR is defined as the ratio of the partial standing wave's amplitude at an antinode (maximum) to the amplitude at a node (minimum) along the line. Voltage standing wave ratio (VSWR) (pronounced "vizwar") is the ratio of maximum to minimum voltage on a transmission line For example, a VSWR of 1.2 means a peak voltage 1.2 times the minimum voltage along that line, if the line is at least one half wavelength long. A SWR can be also defined as the ratio of the maximum amplitude to minimum amplitude of the transmission line's currents, electric field strength, or the magnetic field strength. Neglecting transmission line loss, these ratios are identical. The power standing wave ratio (PSWR) is defined as the square of the VSWR, however, this deprecated term has no direct physical relation to power actually involved in transmission. SWR is usually measured using a dedicated instrument called an SWR meter. Since SWR is a measure of the load impedance relative to the characteristic impedance of the transmission line in use (which together determine the reflection coefficient as described below), a given SWR meter can interpret the impedance it sees in terms of SWR only if it has been designed for the same particular characteristic impedance as the line. In practice most transmission lines used in these applications are coaxial cables with an impedance of either 50 or 75 ohms, so most SWR meters correspond to one of these. Checking the SWR is a standard procedure in a radio station. Although the same information could be obtained by measuring the load's impedance with an impedance analyzer (or "impedance bridge"), the SWR meter is simpler and more robust for this purpose. By measuring the magnitude of the impedance mismatch at the transmitter output it reveals problems due to either the antenna or the transmission line.

SWR is used as a measure of impedance matching of a load to the characteristic impedance of a transmission line carrying radio frequency (RF) signals. This especially applies to transmission lines connecting radio transmitters and receivers with their antennas, as well as similar uses of RF cables such as cable television connections to TV receivers and distribution amplifiers. Impedance matching is achieved when the source impedance is the complex conjugate of the load impedance. The easiest way of achieving this, and the way that minimizes losses along the transmission line, is for the imaginary part of the complex impedance of both the source and load to be zero, that is, pure resistances, equal to the characteristic impedance of the transmission line. When there is a mismatch between the load impedance and the transmission line, part of the forward wave sent toward the load is reflected back along the transmission line towards the source. The source then sees a different impedance than it expects which can lead to lesser (or in some cases, more) power being supplied by it, the result being very sensitive to the electrical length of the transmission line. Such a mismatch is usually undesired and results in standing waves along the transmission line which magnifies transmission line losses (significant at higher frequencies and for longer cables). The SWR is a measure of the depth of those standing waves and is, therefore, a measure of the matching of the load to the transmission line. A matched load would result in an SWR of 1:1 implying no reflected wave. An infinite SWR represents complete reflection by a load unable to absorb electrical power, with all the incident power reflected back towards the source. It should be understood that the match of a load to the transmission line is different from the match of a source to the transmission line or the match of a source to the load seen through the transmission line. For instance, if there is a perfect match between the load impedance Zload and the source impedance that perfect match will remain if the source and load are connected through a transmission line with an electrical length of one half wavelength (or a multiple of one half wavelengths) using a transmission line of any characteristic impedance Z0. However the SWR will generally not be 1:1, depending only on Zload and Z0. With a different length of transmission line, the source will see a different impedance than Zload which may or may not be a good match to the source. Sometimes this is deliberate, as when a quarter wave matching section is used to improve the match between an otherwise mismatched source and load. However typical RF sources such as transmitters and signal generators are designed to look into a purely resistive load impedance such as 50Ω or 75Ω, corresponding to common transmission lines' characteristic impedances. In those cases, matching the load to the transmission line, Zload Z0, always ensures that the source will see the same load impedance as if the transmission line weren't there. This is identical to a 1:1 SWR. This condition (Zload Z0) also means that the load seen by the source is independent of the transmission line's electrical length. Since the electrical length of a physical segment of transmission line depends on the signal frequency, violation of this condition means that the impedance seen by the source through the transmission line becomes a function of frequency (especially if the line is long), even if Zload is frequency independent. So in practice, a good SWR (near 1:1) implies a transmitter's output seeing the exact impedance it expects for optimum and safe operation.

The term power standing wave ratio (PSWR) is sometimes referred to, and defined as, the square of the voltage standing wave ratio. The term is widely cited as "misleading". However it does correspond to one type of measurement of SWR using what was formerly a standard measuring instrument at microwave frequencies, the slotted line. The slotted line is a waveguide (or air filled coaxial line) in which a small sensing antenna which is part of a crystal detector or detector is placed in the electric field in the line. The voltage induced in the antenna is rectified by either a point contact diode (crystal rectifier) or a Schottky barrier diode that is incorporated in the detector. These detectors have a square law output for low levels of input. Readings therefore corresponded to the square of the electric field along the slot, E2(x), with maximum and minimum readings of E2max and E2min found as the probe is moved along the slot. The ratio of these yields the square of the SWR, the so called PSWR. This technique of rationalization of terms is fraught with problems. The square law behavior of the detector diode is exhibited only when the voltage across the diode is below the knee of the diode. Once the detected voltage exceeds the knee, the response of the diode becomes nearly linear. In this mode the diode and its associated filtering capacitor produce a voltage that is proportional to the peak of the sampled voltage. The operator of such a detector would not have a ready indication as to the mode in which the detector diode is operating and therefore differentiating the results between SWR or so called PSWR is not practical. Perhaps even worse, is the common case where the minimum detected voltage is below the knee and the maximum voltage is above the knee. In this case, the computed results are largely meaningless. Thus the terms PSWR and Power Standing Wave Ratio are deprecated and should be considered only from a legacy measurement perspective.

SWR can also have a detrimental impact upon the performance of microwave based medical applications. In microwave electrosurgery an antenna that is placed directly into tissue may not always have an optimal match with the feedline resulting in an SWR. The presence of SWR can affect monitoring components used to measure power levels impacting the reliability of such measurements.